My name is Sofiya Tsvetkova. I was born in the town of Vidin – a picturesque place right on the banks of the Danube, a placid and relaxing tiny town scattered along the old river…that is the place where I grew up, my native town where I spent the predominant part of the first 17 years of my life.

The subsequent part of my life began when I had to embark on the challenging adventure of studying abroad and living on my own. After graduating the English Language High School in Vidin, I enrolled in the Ludwig-Maximiliams University of Munich, Germany, studying law. Having spent a self-enriching and exciting semester there, I transferred to the American University in Bulgaria, where I am currently studying. I plan to do a double major in European Studies and Political Science/International Relations and also to fulfill the requirements for a Journalism and Mass Communications minor. My future plans include going on an exchange program for a semester next year and also doing a masters degree someplace in Europe after I graduate from university.

The reason I chose my present fields of study is that I feel they will provide me with the vital knowledge that I need in order to be a responsible and socially engaged citizen who would duly participate in improving the society we live in. The feeling of being responsible for the development of my own and the global community is one that was impregnated in me through my participation at camp GLOW. This leadership camp was a turning point in my life. I have always been socially active and responsible but the camp provided me with the opportunity to find out why I was doing it. The answer that I received was: because I was a leader and not a follower, because I relished in changing things I didn’t like and not in adapting to them. The camp taught me how to express my viewpoints adequately, how to listen to others, i.e. accumulate my peers’ views, how to appreciate my peculiarities and promote my strong points, how to muster up my personal vigor and willpower in order to be able to withstand my convictions and carry out the responsibilities which being a leader in one’s community entails. Therefore, I regard it as a venue that evokes self-revelation and a conscious strife towards self-development. That effect of my experience at GLOW in addition to the fact that I met precious friends there kept me going back to GLOW every year. In 2002 after being selected through an essay competition I was participating at the camp as a camper. The following year after applying for a Junior Counselor’s position I was assigned the responsibilities of a Counselor organizing and leading the large group session on “Self-Esteem”. In 2004 I was functioning as a Counselor facilitating the “Decision –Making” large group session. In the year of 2005 I participated as an Assistant Counselor on the Fundraising Committee. 2006 was the year when as a Counselor I was in charge of the “Continuing GLOW and Fundraising” session. This summer was the first one I did not attend the camp because I was on a Work and Travel program in the US and I really do feel as if an integral part of my summer is missing. Therefore, I will be working on the camp this year – because it charges me with energy for the rest of the year, it reminds me that the world belongs to dreamers, and to people that can determine their goals and struggle for their accomplishment, i. e. to leaders.

My name is Sofiya Tsvetkova. I was born in the town of Vidin – a picturesque place right on the banks of the Danube, a placid and relaxing tiny town scattered along the old river…that is the place where I grew up, my native town where I spent the predominant part of the first 17 years of my life.

The subsequent part of my life began when I had to embark on the challenging adventure of studying abroad and living on my own. After graduating the English Language High School in Vidin, I enrolled in the Ludwig-Maximiliams University of Munich, Germany, studying law. Having spent a self-enriching and exciting semester there, I transferred to the American University in Bulgaria, where I am currently studying. I plan to do a double major in European Studies and Political Science/International Relations and also to fulfill the requirements for a Journalism and Mass Communications minor. My future plans include going on an exchange program for a semester next year and also doing a masters degree someplace in Europe after I graduate from university.

The reason I chose my present fields of study is that I feel they will provide me with the vital knowledge that I need in order to be a responsible and socially engaged citizen who would duly participate in improving the society we live in. The feeling of being responsible for the development of my own and the global community is one that was impregnated in me through my participation at camp GLOW. This leadership camp was a turning point in my life. I have always been socially active and responsible but the camp provided me with the opportunity to find out why I was doing it. The answer that I received was: because I was a leader and not a follower, because I relished in changing things I didn’t like and not in adapting to them. The camp taught me how to express my viewpoints adequately, how to listen to others, i.e. accumulate my peers’ views, how to appreciate my peculiarities and promote my strong points, how to muster up my personal vigor and willpower in order to be able to withstand my convictions and carry out the responsibilities which being a leader in one’s community entails. Therefore, I regard it as a venue that evokes self-revelation and a conscious strife towards self-development. That effect of my experience at GLOW in addition to the fact that I met precious friends there kept me going back to GLOW every year. In 2002 after being selected through an essay competition I was participating at the camp as a camper. The following year after applying for a Junior Counselor’s position I was assigned the responsibilities of a Counselor organizing and leading the large group session on “Self-Esteem”. In 2004 I was functioning as a Counselor facilitating the “Decision –Making” large group session. In the year of 2005 I participated as an Assistant Counselor on the Fundraising Committee. 2006 was the year when as a Counselor I was in charge of the “Continuing GLOW and Fundraising” session. This summer was the first one I did not attend the camp because I was on a Work and Travel program in the US and I really do feel as if an integral part of my summer is missing. Therefore, I will be working on the camp this year – because it charges me with energy for the rest of the year, it reminds me that the world belongs to dreamers, and to people that can determine their goals and struggle for their accomplishment, i. e. to leaders.

Hello again,

I’ve been wondering how many of you have followed my advice. Here I am back to remind it to those who might have forgotten it: “Enjoy life!”…as in my opinion it is the only valuable and priceless thing ever offered to anyone. Although it takes quite a lot to start realizing it but the earlier you do the better it is for us.

Considering the different view points for what exactly it means, I am clarifying my words: Enjoying life is not only the time we spend with friends over coffee or aimless flirts with people who we admire…Enjoying life, to me, means enriching ourselves in a long lasting spiritual way which eventually affects our community and our life style. So the more educated and knowledgeable we are, the higher perspectives we have available. It depends on what each one of us wants from life.

Having spent three months in the US has been not only a helpful experience for me but also an adventure. An experience because I learnt a lot about the American law system in general, American Immigration Services and many other helpful things which I might never study at school. An adventure because every day is unique in its own way. One never knows how the day would end…hard to predict.

There is much to be said about American culture and life. Many writes, authors and publicists have made attempts to describe what the NEW WORLD, called America, resembles. But I am not making even an effort to describe it.
All I can say about this country is: You need to experience it in order to understand it…to understand its sizes, its culture, its mentality, its diversity.